Georgia Power approved to take over management of Vogtle plant

NUCLEAR: Georgia Power’s plan to assume management of the Vogtle nuclear expansion was approved on Friday by the U.S. Department of Energy. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)

ALSO: The Tennessee Valley Authority makes an agreement with federal regulators who said a Browns Ferry nuclear plant had a chilled work environment that raised safety concerns. (Times Free Press)

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WIND: Apex Clean Energy is still exploring its proposed $300 million wind farm in North Carolina despite a new moratorium on wind projects in the state. (Charlotte Business Journal, subscription)

COAL ASH: A Tennessee prosecutor wants an investigation into cleanup conditions from a 2008 coal ash spill after workers said they weren’t warned it was toxic or given protective gear. (Associated Press)

FRACKING:
• West Virginia’s Marcellus and Utica shale drillers continued to set records for natural gas production last year, according to data from the state. (Wheeling News-Register)
• Five years after the North Carolina legislature voted to legalize fracking, not a single well has been drilled or proposed in the state because of a “legal black hole.”(News & Observer)

OFFSHORE DRILLING:
• Twelve years after a platform in the Gulf of Mexico was destroyed, the federal government has started investigating how oil and gas that is still leaking from wells is damaging natural resources. (Times-Picayune)
• Activists are planning a rally to push South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster to help block the reopening of the state’s coast to seismic testing and oil and gas drilling. (Post and Courier)

COAL:
• Following the end of the Kemper plant project, Mississippi Power officials say the utility’s green energy efforts will focus on solar and similar technologies rather than “clean coal.” (Clarion-Ledger)
• A look at recently diagnosed cases of black lung disease in Appalachia. (WV Public Broadcasting)

GREEN JOBS: Starting in 2010, Mississippi lawmakers gave seven green companies more than $400 million in taxpayer-backed loans, but few jobs were ultimately created. (Clarion-Ledger)

UTILITIES: Duke Energy Carolinas on Friday submitted a rate-increase request with South Carolina regulators that would be a monthly increase of $1.69 for a typical residential customer. (PR Newswire, press release)

COMMENTARY:
• A newspaper editorial board agrees with hundreds of Louisiana businesses, local governments and other organizations that signed a letter asking President Trump to rethink reducing offshore oil and gas royalties. (Times-Picayune)
• The head of a company that finances clean energy projects disagrees with Georgia-based Suniva’s petition for solar import tariffs, saying trade regulations “should not be used to pick winners and losers.” (The Hill)